Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • July 27, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 29 FAMILY BUSINESS AWARDS 2020 CATEGORY | RISING STAR — JULIE PAINE-MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT OF EAST GRANBY-BASED PAINE'S INC. Paine-Miller prepares to take reins of family's trash-hauling empire By Natalie Missakian Special to the Hartford Business Journal A s the vice president of Paine's Inc. Rubbish and Recycling, Julie Paine- Miller has a hand in just about every aspect of the family business. Finances, marketing, cus- tomer service, long-term planning — Paine-Miller does a bit of it all. But the work that makes her most proud? Her efforts to demystify the often invisible and sometimes thankless job of picking up and hauling away people's trash. Paine-Miller never misses a chance to shine a spotlight on her drivers and their work, whether it's by posting their photos on Facebook, giving away coloring books and T-shirts through the company's "junior enthusiast" program, or, pre-COVID, by reading to kids at a touch-a-truck event. She said the public health crisis has, in some ways, made it easier to foster connections with the commu- nity, since more people are at home to see the drivers on their routes. Some have written notes or left chalk messages on their driveways for the essential workers to thank them. "Before this, I think a lot of people would just put out a full barrel, go to work, then come home and bring in an empty barrel," she said. "They never gave it much thought." With her uncle and cur- rent company president, Mike Paine Sr., now near retirement, Paine-Miller, 38, is poised to be- come the fourth generation of her family to lead the busi- ness. Although she didn't set out to take over (she initially studied to become a teacher), the company is at the center of her earliest memories. She recalls spending long summer afternoons playing in the truck yard, cooking up innocent mischief with her brother and cousin, and remembers how workers would oftentimes drop by her house in the evenings "just to say hi." "I was always watching, listening and learning here," she said. Paine-Miller's great-grandparents, Albert and Mary, started the com- pany in Simsbury in 1929, collecting food scraps from local schools to feed the pigs on the family farm. Her grandfather, Don, relocated it to East Granby in the 1970s and it expanded from a single truck to the modern-day rubbish and recycling company it is today. With 73 employees, Paine's servic- es more than 50,000 residential and 1,400 commercial customers a week in Greater Hartford and northwest Connecticut, and was the first in New England to institute automated collection and curbside recycling. Paine-Miller said she first began to envision a future at the company at 23, after taking her first "official" job in the customer-service depart- ment. She was surprised by how much she loved the role. "When the question [about her long-term commitment] was of- ficially asked, I just knew that this was where I wanted to be," she said. "I wanted to see this company into the next generation." CATEGORY | RISING STAR — SAMUEL SCHNEIDER, COO OF ELLINGTON-BASED EARTHLIGHT TECHNOLOGIES LLC Schneider turns small lightbulb shop into thriving energy solutions/solar installation business By Natalie Missakian Special to the Hartford Business Journal S am Schneider was a fresh- man at Central Connecticut State University when he first opened a small light- bulb shop on Route 83 in his home- town of Ellington. Inspired by his electrician father, Schneider launched Earthlight Tech- nologies in 2008, seeing a business opportunity in the rising popularity of money-saving, energy-efficient products. With his mother, Dana, the student- turned-entrepreneur sold compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy- efficient lighting out of a "couple of small rooms with some shelving." At the time, he thought of it as little more than a side gig to help pay tuition. But 12 years later, he has parlayed the venture he now runs with his father, Tim, into a thriving family owned and operated energy solu- tions and solar installation business, with 77 employees in three states. Schneider, now 31, has expanded and diversified the business over the years by seizing opportunities among the latest green energy trends. For example, soon after opening the retail store, the company began offer- ing home energy audits and installa- tions. That side of the business took off in 2010 when Earthlight became a preferred contractor for Eversource Energy's Small Business Energy Advantage Program, which helps companies upgrade to LED lighting or energy-efficient building controls and equipment. The company expanded into west- ern Massachusetts the following year and added 2,000 square feet to the Ellington shop in 2012. Four years ago, it opened a West Coast branch in Silverton, Oregon. Schneider attributes most of Earth- light's recent growth to its flourish- ing residential and commercial solar installation division, which it added in 2013. It now accounts for two-thirds of the company's business. And he's still looking ahead. The company has begun installing electric vehicle charging stations and just became a certified Tesla Powerwall dealer. The solar-charged home battery can serve as backup power during a grid outage. Meanwhile, a new 18,000-square- foot office and warehouse facility, about a quarter-mile from the origi- nal location, is being planned. The one-time side job has become Schneider's life passion. "I started to really appreciate and enjoy how much we could help a busi- ness owner save energy and money with energy efficiency," he said. Throughout its evolution, Earth- light has remained a close-knit family enterprise. Four of his five siblings work for the company: brother Jake, 26, as project man- ager; Christian, 24, and Jonathan, 19, as electricians; and recent high school graduate Nathan, 17, as the newest solar installation crew mem- ber. His mother still works behind the scenes. Schneider counts Earthlight's em- ployees — and use of quality manu- facturers — as key to its success. "Our family values that we've learned over the years from our par- ents and grandparents carry over to our group of 77 employees," Schneider said. "We're all a big team working together for the same goals." PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Julie Paine-Miller with her cousin Mike Paine Jr. Samuel Schneider is COO of Earthlight Technologies.

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